Mitre Rocks Pinot Noir 2006
Tasting description
Our inaugural Mitre Rocks wine is rich, robust and complex wine showing bold, ripe dark fruit and cherry characters, with a distinctive nose of plums and cherries deliciously supported by hints of spice, coffee and a touch of violet. Powerful dark fruit flavours are nicely balanced with smoky oak, mushroom and savoury notes across the palate. Well-integrated tannins and good structure support a brambly texture. This wine will drink well while young, but will open up with careful cellaring.
Analysis at bottling: Alcohol 14.0% TA = 5.4 g/L pH = 3.60
Winemaking
Under the care of award-winning winemaker Carol Bunn, this wine was crafted from a warm vintage with an exceptional crop harvested at 25ยบ Brix and fermented in small open-top stainless steel fermenters for approximately 21 days. The wine was barrel matured for ten months in 228 litre French barriques (approx 40% new and 60% one to three-year-old).
We choose to enclose our wine under screw cap to ensure freshness, avoid cork taint and to enhance the ageing ability of our wine.
Viticulture notes
Our vines grow in glacial schist – low-fertility, alluvial soils typical of the Cromwell Basin. We experience a cool climate of continental extremes – hot, dry summers with cool, dry autumns that promote intense flavour development of our fruit.
The 2006 vintage was exceptional. Excellent weather during flowering gave good fruit set and thinning was required. Dry, hot weather conditions in prevailed in January and February, causing good bunch weights. Vintage was earlier than usual due to the excellent growing year, with near perfect weather conditions allowing fruit to be harvested in optimum condition.
Food match
Mitre Rocks Pinot Noir is well suited to game dishes, venison, duck, lamb and dishes featuring mushrooms.
